Leaf-binder.



L. KINGSLEY.

LEAF BINDER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 21, 191s.v

T. w y. w 0% M ,R 3 t r T W 1% A S m P .Y B m A. 1 4 7 N U 1 W LEE KINGSLEY, F SYRACUSE, NEW YORK.

LEAF-BINDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 30, 1913.

' Application filed January 21, 1913. Serial No. 743,262.

[0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, LEE KmcsLsr, of Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga, in the State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements. in Leaf-Binders, of

which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to certain improve' ments in leaf binders for filing letters, bills,

and other records, and refers more particularly to that class of files in which the individual sheets are attached to a common support by separate adhesive tabs.

The main object is to produce a relatively narrow and comparatively inexpensive binding strip of light but tough paper, fabric or other suitable material having a series of separate integral adhesive tabs, preferably of uniform size, arranged in a straight row and folded over upon the main body of the strip along a straight edge and having their free ends normally covered by a separate flap attached to the opposite edge of the strip, thewhole forming a unitary article of manufacture capable of being used alone or adhesively applied to a suitable backing of material which is stiffer than the sheets to be bound if desired so that the straight folded edges of the tabs may constitute an abutment for alining the sheets while attaching the tabs thereto.

Another object is to utilize the flap for holding the ends of the unused tabs in a 85 flat plane against the main body of the strip, thereby forming a comparatively smooth binding edge for the papers and allowing the bound papers to be inserted into or removed from a file containing similarly collated sheets without liability of interference with or in any way inutilating the ends of theunused tabs.

In other words, the specific object is to protect the ends of the unusedtabs by means of a guard,'flap or retaining shield which keeps such tabs in a common plane close against the strip and enables the sheets to be turned over one upon the other so as to lie flat without liability of buckling.

Other objects and uses will be brought out in the following description.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved tab strip as applied to a back piece and to a letter sheet or bill.

'Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view through the device shown in .Fig. 1 with an additional sheet to be filed in place there on. Figs. 3 and 4 are perspective views of the detached binder as viewed from opposite sides. Fig. 5 is an enlarged transverse c sectional view through the same binder. Fig. 6 is a sectional View similar to Fig. 5, showing the flap as an integral part. of the main body of the binder. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a slightly modified form of binder in which the main body is provided with a lengthwise slot terminating short of either of the ends.

This binder preferably comprises a relatively narrow rectangular strip 1 of 7 paper, fabric or equivalent material having one of its longitudinal edges provided with a series of separate adhesive tabs 2 folded along a straight line upon the main body so as to normally lie fiatwise. thereon with their adhesive sides outermost. These tabs are preferably formed integral with the main body by cutting or slitting the strip transversely at regular intervals a uniform distance from one edge considerably go less'than the width of the strip so that the folded tabs will be somewhat shorter than the width of the strip. v

The opposite edge of the strip is provided with a protective shield or flap 3 which 35 may be made separately and adhesively secured thereto along its upper edge as shown in Figs. l'to 5 inclusive or may be integrally united thereto as shown in Fig. 6 and is preferably of less width than the main body but extends over and beyond the free ends of the tabs, thereby forming a pocket for receiving said tabs and normally holding them flatwise against the main body.

The free edge of the flap and also the free ends of the tabs are therefore relatively. movable thus permitting the .flaps to be withdrawn at will from the pocket or from under the flap as they are needed for bind ing the sheets, the usual method of withdrawing the tabs being to insert a pencil or other pointed instrument into the fold and then to lift such tab out from under the flap whereupon the unfolded tab may be brought over upon the surface of the adjacent end of the sheet and adhesively'seeured thereto.

\Vh en the tabs are unfolded so as to stand at an angle to the main body as shown by full lines in Fig. 2, they form an abutment against which the head ends of the sheet may be brought for the purpose of alining the sheets with each other as they are successively attached to the binder.

The sheets to be bound are successively secured to the binder by separate pairs of tabs which are used in sequence from'the outer edges inwardly, the back of the strip being provided with a coating of adhesive as -4 mucilage by which it may be adhesively secured to any suitable back piece -D-.

It is evident from the foregoing description by folding the tabs along a straight line over and upon the main body of the binding strip and loosely inserting their ends under the flap any one or more of such tabs may be readily withdrawn from their folded'position while the folded edges of the remaining tabs form an alining abutment against which the head ends of the sheets may be engaged to accurately register the superposed sheets with the underlying sheets whereupon the unfolded tabs may be adhesively secured to the adjacent end of the superposed sheet, and, although I have shown and described the binding strip as provided with a flap or shield to cover and protect the ends of the unused tabs, it is evident that the shields may be otherwise formed, as for example by cutting a lengthwise slot in the main body of the strip through which the ends of the tabs may be loosely passed when folded as shown in Fig. 7, in which the main body is slit lengthwise at 10 intermediate its longitudinal edges or rather between the folds of the tabs and opposite edge, the slit terminating short of either of the ends 'of the strip so as to leave the part carrying the tabs integrally united to the part carrying the protective shield.

WVhat I claim is: I

1. A binding strip having a flap and a series of adhesive tabs normally folded under the flap. i

2. A binding strip having'one edge provided with a flap and its opposite edge provided with a series of adhesive tabs loosely folded under the flap.

3. A binding strip having a flap attached to one edge thereof and at its opposite edge provided with a series of tabs folded along a straight line and their free ends normally but loosely inserted under the flap.

4. A binding strip having one of its edges provided with a straight row of integral adhesive tabs folded along a straight line, said strip having a protective flap normally holding the free ends of the tabs-fiatwise ed along a straight line upon the main body of the strip, said strip having a flap secured to the opposite edge thereof, but of less width than the main body and normally covering the free ends of the tubes.

In witness whereof I have. hereunto set my hand this Sth day of January, 1913.

LEE KINGSLEY,

Witnesses:

H, E. CHAsE, EVA E. GREENLEAF. 

